Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting started, sputtered, died, won't start

Okay, third time in three weeks this car has been in the shop...the dealership shop I bought it from (not a Ford dealer, so don't tell me it's because of the Ford dealership... it's still a dealership, though, so I share some of your resentment against dealerships)... and I've only had the car three weeks. First time, it was the water pump and coolant level sensor...second time, knicked a curb and did about $700 in suspension/steering damage on the right side, including a whole new rack & pinion... and then they didn't even get the steering wheel centered...

Now, this week, I was stopped at a place, shut the car off, and when I got back in, two minutes later, tried to start the car, and it started up, but something felt weird, and when I tried letting off the clutch and stepping on the throttle, the highest it would go was about 600 rpm, with the throttle pedal all the way to the floor... and I was able to get it out of the 5-minute parking area I was in and into the regular parking area, but the car just died about three feet from a spot, and I had to push it the rest of the way...

While it was heading there it managed to give a couple larger bursts of power but most of the time it stayed at about 600 rpm, just barely above stalling...and the oil light came on and I just decided to let it die by letting off the throttle instead of burning up the engine.

Okay, so the symptoms seemed a lot at first like the car was running out of gas, or maybe some form of vapor lock (if fuel-injected cars still have that problem? I've heard of it happening, but not in a car as new as 1997)... but the fuel tank is more than half full, according to the gas gauge (considered already that it might be at fault), but I've only gone about 66 miles since I filled up last, which was Sunday, and now it's Friday.

So...the gas gauge could be not working properly...but it's been working as far as I know since I got it, because it's gone down to almost empty at a normal rate, and it didn't die, and I filled it back up and it went to full... and that was about 200 or more miles per tank... also, I tried putting some gasoline into the tank when my dad brought a gas can with him, with the same result... the engine will crank, and there seems to be ignition power...but no fuel...or maybe there's no air... Either way, there's enough fuel in the tank, and the engine cranks when the key is turned.

I have it in the shop, like I said, so hopefully they'll figure it out, but any further diagnosis on this from what I've told you all, or advice, or other options...etc... would be very helpful and appreciated. Thank you. I think my car hates me. I should really give it a nice wash and wax...but I just haven't had time...it's been in the damn shop so much...I don't want to wash it and then it just breaks again and has to get dirty from being in the shop... doesn't make sense to me.

Cannot really tell just from the symptom.

Need some diagnostic info.

My first thought is that it's flooded.

Did it overheat bad when the water pump failed?

No, it didn't overheat...the low coolant light was just on for a little bit of time, but the farthest I drove with the light on was about 5 or 10 miles...because I was on a delivery (I deliver pizzas), so I had to get back to the shop before I could check it out...bought some coolant on the way back, and filled it up, and it was fine, til I noticed it was all coming out on the parking lot... But no, the temperature gauge didn't rise very much in all that time. If it overheated, I don't know.

Anyway, now to this problem: There is news: The dealership decided that it was the fuel pump...how they arrived at that diagnosis I don't know... they didn't tell me, and I had to get to work, so I just was like, where's my rental car, because they actually agreed to let us rent a car this time so I could work... I'm sure there's all kinds of red flags for an insurance company when one uses a rental car to deliver pizzas...

They said I should have it back by midday Monday, which, seeing their previous record for keeping within time estimates...it'll be Tuesday or Wednesday... I mean, it is just a fuel pump...but still...

I'm not sure how the engine could be flooded...I mean, I realize that I had my foot all the way on the throttle, and it could've been an airflow issue and the throttle being down could've just kept squirting fuel into the cylinders...but I let it sit for a while (a bit more than an hour) and then tried starting it, to no avail. And I guess the techs couldn't get it started, either... but the guy working there said they diagnosed the problem as a bad fuel pump...which, I guess, can burn out with as many miles as are on this car, and the heat that the car was subjected to that day...

But seriously, this is ridiculous... There are lemon laws, right? Everybody I've talked to about this seems to think I've got a lemon...and I don't want a legal confrontation about it, since I'm sure the dealership has better lawyers...I just want to be like, hey, I'm sorry, I just want a car that won't break every week (it's been in their shop every week I've had it so far), and I'd like it if you took the car back and gave me my money back, or at least minus the $1000 deposit... and then you can resell the car or whatever... I don't think they'd do it...but I dunno... cause seriously, I don't have the time or resources to work on it myself, and I don't have the energy or patience to deal with dealership technicians or salesmen... not to mention I have to have my car in my driveway most of the week, not in their bay...

I'm sure they're not enjoying the hassle either, and I appreciate that they're doing what they can to help me, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm not sure if it's going to break from week to week... and with the weather being up in the 90 degree heat range, I'm sure something else will go wrong, more than likely while I'm working.

But any comments about the original problem at the beginning of this thread, or any comments about anything else I've talked about...are appreciated.

sounds like a fuel pump issue almost. mine did that and it was cutting out completely and it about died on me so i parked it, came back a couple hours later and it ran perfect. if it ends up being the fuel pump, BAT sells them at only $75 w/filter which is the best you'll find.

Well, like I said in the post above yours, it ended up being the fuel pump, and I doubt the Subaru dealership I bought it from shops regularly at BAT, though yes, that would be a good place to go if I were doing it myself... and the dealership is doing it, so I don't really have a say in which brand they use... But I'm glad someone else confirms a fuel pump issue...anyone else?